In the incoming statistics I noted a link coming from the “Top 40 Conservative European English Speaking Blogs”. It’s a trifle disturbing for someone who once stood as the communist candidate in the “general election” when I was at school. I think it’s because, being English I associate the idea of “being conservative” with (and I can’t imagine why) “being Conservative“. Now, my political views might have shifted somewhat from that boy who stood as a communist – and that was, if I’m honest, played for laughs and “an end to the oppressive and elitist fascist system which forces my fraternal brothers and sisters in the upper academic stream to study Latin” – i.e. naked self-interest – I hated Latin. Is that all that voting intentions were about? Obviously not, I had principles too: I couldn’t vote Labour – when I was seven or so years old my dog bit a leafleter from the Labour Party as she delivered local election pamphlets to our house and my dog was put to sleep. Despite the fact that I was joyously happy (okay, hung-over actually) on May 2nd 1997, I’ve never, ever voted Labour – the bastards, admittedly somewhat indirectly, killed my Cairn terrier.
On the other hand, I’ve never voted Tory (in a general election) either. What could they do to get my vote? Well, I vigorously believe in low taxes, small government and the rights of the individual. Apparently, when one hear phrases like that one should automatically be thinking “Conservative Party” - or so I’m told.
I especially wonder about “rights of the individual”. Can you manage that? Eh? To allow people to just get on with their lives, unfettered by ridiculous laws. And that means all people – getting someone whose parents originally came from Pakistan to stand in Blackburn, and having a couple of openly gay MPs isn’t going to cut it from the party that came up with Section 28. And has Ann Widdecombe bemoaning the fact that if the Terrorism Bill gets amended so that instead of being able to lock people up without trial for three months, they might only get a measly 4 weeks “If we now end up with 28 days and someone on the 29th day goes out and kills someone, where will that leave us?”
It’d leave us with a country where the police can lock you up for a month as they see fit. It’s not the amount of time Ann, it’s the “without trial” bit. Also, Michael Howard, I’d like my pistol back please.
So am I conservative? Well if that means being allowed to do as much as possible without state interference, on the condition that it harms no one who doesn’t consent to what I’m doing, and also that I am responsible for my own actions, including if I screw up, then yes. But I prefer the term small “l” liberal actually and I certainly don’t appear to be a Conservative.
Phrase For Today: “omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulei” - You, Horace! Write it out 1,000 times, even if it doesn’t exactly apply to you
Song playing as this was published: Morcheeba - “What New York Couples Fight About”
I’ve never voted in a General Election as I have always been out of the country. Trouble is there is no one party that I agree with. I agree with little bits from all parties. So If I had been in the UK I wouldn’t have voted anyway.
Only time I ever voted was in local elections, and then I voted Green.
Incidently anyone noticed that Brits/Americans dont mind saying who they vote for, but Germans like to keep it a secret.
You’d like your pistol back? Well, I do not think that’s exactly one of your better ideas.
There is a very small percentage of the general population that is mentally stable and cautious enough to be able to deal with the responsibilities that come with the ownership of firearms. The overwhelming majority has psychological bagagge, er, luggage, cannot keep a firearm away from children or is just not qualified to operate a handgun safely. It is nearly impossible to separate the sane few from the many disturbed individuals. Just ride a bicycle on a busy street (in full compliance with traffic laws) in a major city like Berlin, Boston etc. Many motorists will honk, come carelessly close to you when passing, flip you the bird etc. On top of this a significant share of them will be speeding, occasionally running red lights, using their mobile phone without a hands-free device or carrying out other disturbing activities. Furthermore, there is a rising number of incidents here in Germany where drivers just got out of there cars and started fistfights over traffic violations. If most average individuals cannot safely operate an automobile (or a bicycle for that matter), how many do you think will be mature and competent enough to own a lethal weapon? Private gun ownership creates more problems that it claims to solve.
Full disclosure: I fired 49 rounds with a 9 mm handgun in the US in March this year and thoroughly enjoyed this first-time experience, although being pretty nervous at first. Discovering how easy it is to overcome inhibitions and to pull a trigger made me even more convinced that private firearm ownership should be as restricted as possible.
Unarmed but still dangerous,
JCS
JCS - I know the feeling, that exhilaration is exactly why guns scare the crap out of me.
I’d say I was a big ‘l’ Liberal, in the classical sense. And frankly, your dog was very prescient.
JCS: So, what you’re saying is that although you judged yourself sane enough to operate a firearm whilst in the US, you wouldn’t want “normal” people doing it here?
Okay, unfair use of your full disclosure perhaps, as I’m personally not entirely sure what the exact level of gun control should be.
Yes, I am incredibly grateful to the person who brought me up with enormous respect for firearms and safety procedure and I’m fully aware that isn’t necessarily the norm.
The point I wanted to make was more about a British political party who talk about personal rights and responsibilities and whose (still) current leader removed that particular right (and large responsibility) when he was Home Secretary.
EasyJetsetter: big L, small l, the classical sense was how it was meant….
Great post - I wholeheartedly agree and am battling the same problem when explaining my own ideas quite often.
Libertarians are a small fringe group it seems
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BTW: Great music choice again…
I used to work night shifts with a bloke who brought his firearms into work to clean in the wee small hours. He also made his own rounds. He was on medication to calm himself down…..(seriously!)…..I was always very friendly to him!
He too was pissed off that he had to hand in his automatic weapons. I always thought he was a Hungerford waiting to happen.
I’m ok with sensible people having guns……but not nutters….but who decides who the nutters are???
The thing with our party-political system with First Past the Post is that all parties have nut cases, policies and pasts that we cannot tolerate. I would rather not meet a Tory today who believes Section 28 was right or defensible and I don’t think I would.
The truth is the Parliamentary Labour Party and the Parliamentary Conservative Party do not necessarily represent their members…
I too am a Conservative and a liberal. Live and let live. The late 80’s moralising by the government by the Tories and the current moralising by the Blairites is an illness.
David Cameron, of course, is the antidote…